(201) Magazine Blogs

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Seton Hall-Rutgers preview

It's hard for me to believe that there will be a Seton Hall-Rutgers game tonight and I'll be over 2000 miles away from the action. I had covered the last 11 meetings between these teams, including several fantastic finishes. But as I heard many times at Jets' camp this past season, it is what it is.

That doesn't mean I won't be following the game from afar tonight. After all, I remember my former colleague at The Record, Adrian Wojnarowski, writing a column from the Winter Olympics in Italy two years ago about Rutgers coach Gary Waters missing the Marquette game because of a snowstorm. No matter how many miles away we are, as sportswriters, we still follow what's going on.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Analyzing Seton Hall’s upset

On the left is Bobby Gonzalez in one of his mellower moments last night.

But really, he and his team had plenty of reasons to be excited about Seton Hall's 92-82 upset over Louisville. Gonzo's gyrations during the game were as noticeable as his excellent coaching. After blitzing through the tape of the game, here are some things that stood out.

After Brian Laing had a turnover and a well-contested miss that led to two straight fast-break runouts and a 9-2 'Ville lead, Gonzalez called time out and read Laing the riot act. He got the message, and played much more under control after that en route to 25 points.

Point guard Eugene Harvey apparently had gotten that memo before the USF game, and although he had four turnovers to go with his six assists against Louisville, he played under control for the second straight game. 'I'm a pass-first point guard,' he said after the Louisville win, and that's what he's been the last two games.

After a free throw by Larry Davis with 15:35 left in the first half, it took Louisville seven seconds to break the Hall's full-court press for a layup. After that, Gonzalez didn't use the press very much, which was a good move. Without the still-injured Paul Gause, the Hall's press just isn't the same.

Many of Jeremy Hazell's threes were from NBA distance, and some were from farther than that. Looks like the moving back of the three-point line next year won't faze him very much. He took one or two ill-advised ones, but the way he was hitting [8-for-14 from 3], maybe they weren't so ill-advised. The book on stopping Seton Hall's offense has been simple--throw some conventional, matchup and/or junk zones at the Pirates and let them shoot their way to oblivion. That opponent strategy will have to be revised if Hazell keeps hitting.

Now that everyone is sharing the ball more, better looks from 3 will be available. And the team concept on defense last night was very good as well. Gonzalez, usually a devotee of man-to-man, said, 'We changed defenses a lot. We played a 1-3-1, which we haven't shown all year.' He added they also used a 2-3, a 3-2 matchup zone and even a diamond-and-one for four possessions to try to contain Jerry Smith, who had 25 points in the first 31 minutes and none afterward.

In fact, Louisville's entire offense pretty much ground to a halt after Smith's last basket, a three with 9:13 left. In their last 17 possessions, following that bucket, the Cardinals were 2-for-13 from the floor, 2-for-2 from the line and committed five turnovers. They scored eight points in that span and were unable to penetrate the Hall's zones. 'You have to dribble penetrate against a zone, especially when a team extends the zone,' Rick Pitino said.

Instead, Louisville point guard Edgar Sosa and his teammates seemed content with hoisting treys and passing the ball aimlessly around the perimeter. Sosa, who has been in and out of Pitino's doghouse during his career, made a terrible decision and even worse pass when he missed connections with an attempted alley-oop with 2:01 left and the Cardinals down four.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Louisville-Seton Hall preview

When Bobby Gonzalez was asked Thursday about having only one day to prepare for tonight's matchup with Louisville, he joked, 'Sometimes it's better if you only have 24 hours and you don't really think about it. You think about it for three or four days and you throw up a couple of times.'

Understandable. This is a matchup that could make Seton Hall feel very queasy, especially with the banged-up state of the Pirates. Louisville has four players 6-8 or taller, and all played at least 20 minutes in a 20-point over Marquette on Thursday night. So unlike USF with 6-9 Kentrell Gransberry, the Cardinals have multiple options inside, not just one. And the amount of minutes they all played Thursday means Louisville had to have used two bigs at the time quite often, something Gonzo doesn't like to do because it hurts Seton Hall's offense, which is a valid complaint.

So he probably will mix some different zones the way he did against USF Thursday and try to force Louisville to beat the Hall from long distance. The Cardinals are only shooting 27 percent from three-point range in league play, so this could very well work, especially considering that none of the Cardinals have ever played at the Rock. so it might not be easy adjusting to the sightlines early in the game. If Louisville starts the game hot from three, the Hall's defense will have some problems on its hands.

Both teams like to use full-court pressure at times, but the fact that both practice against it so much might negate its effectiveness for both sides.

Offensively, the Pirates need another performance from Eugene Harvey like the one he had against South Florida, when he had seven assists and two turnovers. Crisp passing is needed because the Hall can't expect to beat Louisville by shooting too much from beyond the arc. Marquette was 0-for-12 from three Thursday.

And here are a couple of X-factors: Louisville's two Jersey frontcourt players, Derrick Caracter and Earl Clark, totaled 5-for-13 from the floor and 14 points against Rutgers Sunday. Certainly they'll want to show better in the second leg of their respective homecoming tours. But will that desire lead to good or bad performances?

Also note how injury-riddled the Hall is right now. As Gonzo said, 'We've had more hip injuries than the New York Giants.' Brian Laing suffered a hip pointer against Pitt last week and shot 1-for-9 Thursday. Larry Davis suffered a hip pointer against USF and sat out the second half, and Paul Gause (broken knuckle) still is out.

Here's what two of the Hall players said about this one after the USF win:

Jamar Nutter--'We have to come in Saturday like today, ready, locked in, focused. Everybody was focused. We shared the ball and that's what really helped us' against USF.

John Garcia--'They've only got one day to prepare for us, so we're both in the same boat. And they're traveling. We know them pretty well. Most of the guys who played against them last year are back, so we kind of have an idea of their personnel. ... It's part of the grind in the Big East. Sometimes you only get one day to prepare. It's going to be tough, [but] it's about coming out and playing as hard as you can.'

Callahan comes on board

The Jets began tweaking their lackluster running game Friday by hiring former Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, whose title will be assistant head coach/offense. Callahan was an offensive line coach for Philadelphia before becoming Oakland's offensive coordinator in 1998. He became the Raiders' head coach in 2002 after Jon Gruden left for Tampa Bay.

He was fired after four seasons as Nebraska's coach. The Cornhuskers were 5-7 in 2007.

"Bill brings valuable experience as an assistant coach and head coach on both the college and NFL levels," Jets coach Eric Mangini said in a statement. "His expertise with the running game and with protections will be a big asset."

The Jets averaged only 3.8 yards per carry last season and are hoping that Callahan can bring a fresh approach to the ground game. Assistants Mike Devlin and Tony Wise both coached the offensive line last season, but Wise isn't expected to be back.

"I am excited about the opportunity to join the New York Jets," Callahan said. "Coach Mangini has assembled a fine coaching staff and I look forward to working with them and contributing to the team."

Oakland led the NFL in rushing in 2000 when Callahan was offensive coordinator. It is expected that Brian Schottenheimer, who was a candidate for the Baltimore head coach position, will continue to handle the play-calling.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Back in the saddle

While this blog will still comment on the Jets' off-season moves, of course, starting today, it also will take on a bluish tint at times. I will be covering Seton Hall against South Florida tonight, returning to the beat which I've done for the previous five seasons for The Record. I still will be covering the Jets, but just doing some double duty for now, and sharing some SHU observations here when possible.

I feel very fortunate to be at a newspaper such as The Record, where somebody can cover an NFL team and a Big East basketball team, and I'd like to thank my editors for that. I'd also like to thank you readers out there who have been kind enough to comment on my SHU coverage. I appreciate the compliments. They mean a lot to me.

OK, so what about tonight? Well, it's not breaking new ground to say this is a must-win, even though it's only the fourth conference game for the Pirates. At 0-3 going in, and with a home game against Louisville on Saturday followed by a game at Providence a week from today, a win against USF is imperative to keep from falling into a bigger hole.

The Big East schedule-makers obviously did SHU no favors in the early going by having it open against Connecticut (always a nightmarish matchup for the Hall) and follow with ranked Marquette and Pittsburgh on the road.

At least this matchup seems favorable. USF, in its third year in the Big East, still hasn't won a road game in the conference. And Seton Hall will have the services of senior forward Brian Laing, back after suffering a hip pointer against Pitt last week.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Jets sign 11

OK, so they aren't exactly household names, except in their own households, but you never know. The Jets announced Tuesday they have signed 11 players to reserve/future contracts, including seven who finished the season on the practice squad. (Reserve/future contracts are for free agents who weren't on an active NFL roster when the preceding season ended. The free-agency period for those players begins March 3.

The other signees are S Darnell Bing, who spent 2007 on San Francisco's practice squad; OL Stanley Daniels, who had a cup of Gatorade with the Jets during preseason (spent four days in camp) and DT Thomas Johnson, who played in 13 games with Dallas and Houston in 2005 and 2006 but was waived by the Texans in August.

In tryout news, former Jet FB Darian Barnes has worked out for Buffalo and Cleveland, and former Jet DB Rashad Washington worked out for the Browns as well.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Mike Tannenbaum unplugged

Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum addressed the media today to wrap up the 2007 season and look ahead to 2008. Originally, he was going to speak last Monday after coach Eric Mangini, but the Jets decided that would be too much entertainment for the media in one day.

Seriously, 'Mr. T' had some interesting things to say. My story for Tuesday's editions focuses mostly on the quarterback situation and WR Laveranues Coles, who is seeking a contract extension, so here's a look at some of Tannenbaum's answers to tough questions Monday.

On if there are one or two more personnel moves that he wishes he made last off-season:

That's a great question.I sat up a lot during the season thinking about what I could have done better.Every season is its own unique entity.Going from 2006 to 2007, there were a lot of things I could have done better and I'll try to work on that and move forward into 2008.

On if he expects Chad Pennington to return:

One of the hallmarks of the program that Eric [Mangini] and I want to be known for is the best players will play.Actions speak louder than words and, over the last few years, that's been true.Like Eric said last week, the best players will play.At the quarterback position, I expect Chad to be back.The best players will play.That's not limited to the quarterback position.

On if Pennington's contract could be restructured:

We won't discuss that publicly except to say, given our cap situation, we're comfortably under the cap right now.I don't see the economics driving any decision right now with him being here or not being here.But again, I won't go any further than that.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Schottenheimer will interview with Ravens

Although he's coming off a season in which the Jets ranked 26th in the NFL in total offense, coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will interview for Baltimore's vacant head coach position later this week, AP is reporting. Schottenheimer was a very hot commodity last year at this time, and interviewed with Miami before it hired the since-fired Cam Cameron.

Schottenheimer is one of many candidates for the job. Indianapolis assistant head coach Jim Caldwell and Dallas assistant head coach Tony Sparano and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett already have interviewed during their teams' bye week in the playoffs. The Ravens also interviewed defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and intend to talk to Cleveland offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski this week.

Ryan's twin brother, Rob, has been retained as Oakland's defensive coordinator, although some insiders believe he could still be let go later this month. Had he been fired, he would've been the likeliest candidate to succeed Bob Sutton as Jets' defensive coordinator. Sutton is on the hot seat and could be fired soon.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Tale of the tape, Seton Hall-style

One observation about watching Seton Hall play after covering the Jets for five months: You do get to see some offense.

For both teams, of course. Watching the UConn-Seton Hall game on tape today after being at the Prudential Center last night, I was struck by a few things.

First, I'll get this out of the way. Yes, UConn got a favorable whistle and shot 47 free throws to Seton Hall's 12. Was that why SHU lost? No. And keep in mind that part of that disparity is due to the fact that the Pirates play defense with their hands, not their feet, for the most part, and that they jack up a lot of treys (33 last night).

That said, there were some key calls that were questionable or downright bad. Eugene Harvey's second foul, on which A.J. Price drew a charge, was debatable. I've seen that type of play called both ways. But the SHU offense actually ran more crisply with Paul Gause at the point, so really, the Hall didn't lose that much there.

But on Mike Davis' first foul, it appeared as if Jeff Adrien shuffled his feet before the contact occurred, so that should've been traveling. But the Jeremy Hazell traveling call on the potential breakaway layup later in the first half looked legit to me. I'd also say, however, that John Garcia's third foul of the first half was very questionable. Would liked to have seen a replay of it, besides the original angle.

Still, here's a reason why SHU lost that has nothing to do with the guys in the striped shirts. Nine times, by my unofficial count, the Pirates used their patented full-court press. Six times in the first half, three times in desperation time near the end of the game.

How many points did the Hall get from those nine situations? Zilch. UConn broke the press each time, and scored on five of those possessions. Two were fast-break dunks, another was an open 3 in transition, and twice the Huskies scored in the halfcourt. That's 11 points to none for Seton Hall. UConn won by 12.

On a positive note, the Hall did get more touches for its big men in the second half. By my again unofficial count, John Garcia, Mike Davis and Augustine Okosun had six touches inside the arc in the first half (not counting offensive rebounds), none of which led to points. In the second half, they totaled 12 touches and SHU scored eight points because of it, including a nice kickout by Mike Davis to Brian Laing for an open jumper.

About

J.P. PELZMAN joined The Record in April 1998. He began his career at the Ocean County Observer in Toms River, where he spent one year before leaving for Newsday on Long Island. At The Record, he was the primary backup on the New York Jets’ beat for nine seasons, from 1998-2006, before becoming the beat writer in 2007. Pelzman also has been The Record’s beat writer for Seton Hall men’s basketball since the 2002-03 season.